I drove Mercedes-Benz's $141,000 electric car and was blown away by its luxurious interior and comfy ride — see inside the EQS
I drove the Mercedes-Benz EQS, the German brand's first electric car for US customers.
Its quiet and luxurious interior is packed full of supple leather, wood trim, and lavish features like massaging seats.
It's a dream to drive thanks to two powerful electric motors, a comfy ride, and ingenious rear-wheel steering.
Everybody's jumping on the electric-vehicle bandwagon — and that means you don't need to buy a Tesla if you want a high-end, battery-powered set of wheels.
People who want to ride in ultimate comfort can now buy a zero-emission car from one of the top dogs in luxury transportation: Mercedes-Benz.
The German brand's first electric offering in the US is the EQS, a four-door sedan that floats down the road, accelerates like a sports car, and cocoons its passengers in an interior fit for royalty.
I got to test it out for myself.
There are three versions of the EQS on the market: the 450+, the 580, and the high-performance AMG model.
The car starts at just over $100,000. The fully-loaded EQS 580 Pinnacle that Mercedes lent me came out to $141,400, including some options and a delivery fee.
Let's start with the exterior. Some have criticized the EQS for looking a bit blob-like, and I can't blame them.
Somehow, the EQS isn't quite as elegant as Mercedes's gas-powered sedans, which come off more sculpted than inflated.
Still, the long, sleek, and imposing EQS looks better in person than it does in photos, especially with a striking matte-gray paint job.
Not to mention, that pool-float shape imbues the EQS with some of the best aerodynamic qualities of any car on the market.
It slips through air with minimal drag, giving it a range of up to 350 miles in the 450+ trim and 340 miles in the 580.
The dual-motor, all-wheel drive 580 is slightly less efficient than the 450+, but it makes up for it with performance.
The 516-horsepower EV silently and seemingly effortlessly rockets forward with every push of the accelerator.
But it doesn't feel harsh. The EQS smoothly glides down the road and soaks up bumps thanks to its air suspension.
One amazing thing about the EQS: standard rear-wheel steering that cuts its turning radius.
With the optional 10 degrees of rear-wheel steering, my test car made sharp turns and slipped into parking spaces easily for a 207-inch land yacht.
There's one sticking point about the way the EQS drives: Its brake pedal feels disconnected and unnatural. You have to depress the pedal way farther than you think to get the brakes to catch.
Walk up to the EQS with the key in your pocket, and its door handles pop out to greet you.
In the EQS's driver's seat, you're surrounded by rich leather, supple suede, wood trim, and a dazzling lineup of screens.
It's solidly built and feels high-end, as you'd expect from a car that costs 5.5 Toyota Camrys.
Read more: I drove a Tesla Model Y and discovered 6 reasons not to buy Elon Musk's $66,000 electric SUV
All the knobs, switches, and other high-touch objects feel substantial and satisfying to play around with.
A fingerprint reader lets owners lock their driver profile.
The EQS's front seats are plush, highly adjustable, heated, and ventilated.
And every seat besides the rear middle has several massage settings.
Ambient lighting strips are scattered throughout the car. You can set a color or have it cycle between them.
And then there's the elephant-sized touchscreen in the room, which Mercedes calls the Hyperscreen.
The optional feature adds three screens under a single piece of glass for a grand total of 56 inches of display.
It's all a bit over the top and sometimes distracting. But on the upside, the main screen was easy to figure out, responsive to taps, and visually impressive.
The passenger screen mirrors lots of the functions on the main screen, and you can certainly do without it.
Unless, of course, your passengers can't be bothered to simply reach an extra four inches. We've all been there.
Between the quietude, fancy materials, and a virtual assistant doting on your every need, driving around in the EQS is a serene experience.
Because who cares about traffic when you can simply say "Hey Mercedes, please turn up my massaging seat."
My test car came with the $1,690 "Executive Rear Seat Package," which is meant to transform the EQS from a car to drive, into a car to be driven in.
Yes, the back seats are just as upscale and special as the rest of the car, but they weren't quite as palatial as I'd expected. I didn't have a ton of headroom.
Still, back-seat passengers get a removable tablet built into the armrest that controls their massaging seats, air conditioning, and other settings.
The armrest opens up to reveal a wireless phone charger.
Back-seat "executives" also get soft little pillows.
Small gripes aside, the Mercedes-Benz EQS is a luxurious, technology-packed, and endlessly comfortable EV that anybody would be lucky to own.
Read the original article on Business Insider
